Douglas Hurd

Douglas Hurd (8 March 1930-) was the British Foreign Secretary from 26 October 1989 to 5 July 1995, succeeding John Major and preceding Malcolm Rifkind.

Biography
Douglas Hurd was born in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England in 1930, and he was educated at Eton and Cambridge. He entered the Diplomatic Service after leaving Cambridge, and, from 1966, he worked in the Conservative Research Department, becoming Edward Heath's Private Secretary in 1968. In 1974, he was elected to Parliament for the Conservative Party, though his career was hampered by the subsequent demise of Heath. He eventually entered the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in 1984. He became Home Secretary in 1985 and Foreign Secretary in 1989. Until his retirement from Cabinet office in 1995, the patrician, old-fashioned Conservative was highly influential in Britain's relations with Europe, and an important moderating influence on an increasingly divided party.